Vacation is Over

Today I ran. I have to stop eating everything in sight. So, from now on, moderate eating and a little more excercise. I hope to stick to it. It's easier at home because I can just run down to the basement and get on the elliptical machine. Here I need to run. A Japanese guy from home told me that people didn't run on the streets here. Well, they do. I think this may be a recent development or it is becoming more common. But the funny thing (funny to me but probably not so strange) is that the runners I see all wear track suits. I throw on sweats and a t-shirt but they have the whole track suit on. It's just funny because it's the norm. I always thought that the good thing about running is that no special gear is required. Here, apparently it is.

I went to Shinjuku where the big bookstore is with the foreign book floor. I bought two more books. One is a brick so that should keep me going for a while.

This upcoming week is Golden Week. It's supposed to be crazy with people everywhere. I guess all of Japan travels during Golden Week. I will be working. I guess it's fine because I don't really want to deal with the crowds. They're bad enough during a regular week.

Nezu Shrine

I took a break from work this afternoon to walk to Nezu Shrine. Not really to see the shrine (they're kind of all alike) but to see the blooming azaleas. It was nice - they were gorgeous. It was crowded (what's new) but worth the visit. Here are some pictures:





Resarch is still going poorly. We just can't seem to get anywhere with the problem we're having. I'm not too stressed about it because I've done everything I can do and at this point I have little control over the outcome. As a wise person told me, "It's just work."

I've been here for one month. It feels like longer. But is has also flown by. Before I left to come here, I told myself that the first month would be the hardest and the rest would be easier. Well, it can't get much easier than it has been. The first two days were awful but the rest has been great. I keep saying that I have to pinch myself for having such a great opportunity. I miss Nathan a lot and wish I was eating healthier but other than that, everything has been wonderful. I think it will also make me appreciate home more. And I will definitely take some things with me when I leave here. For example, I really want to walk more - to school, to the store, etc. It may not happen but I'd like to give it a shot. And I will make Onigiri at home. That's a fact.

Campus Stroll

I have done a lot of work over the past few days so in the middle of the afternoon today I was practically nodding off at my desk. I decided to take a short walk around campus to get some fresh air and enjoy the nice day (finally!). Here are some pictures:

The Red Gate (not the real name...)

A little pond on campus surrounded by trees. Very serene and pretty.

Another shot of the pond.

A particularly ugly building on campus (one of a few). This is the unfortunate result of seismic retrofit. There has to be a better looking way!

I snuck this one in. I actually took it when I first arrived (the cherry blossoms are long gone) but I never posted it. The tree is in front of the clock tower building - the most recognizable building on campus.

Terribly boring research update...

I got help finally on the driver for my sensor board. Bless his heart - they guy and I were on Yahoo Messenger for 6 hours straight. For him it was until 2 am. We didn't reach a solution but we made a lot of progress - especially compared to the progress I had been able to make on my own. I actually read something from my board - so far it's junk but hope is not lost. We will be back at it again tomorrow. I may not sleep tonight becuase I have so much to get done.

I also found out today that I will have to take my advisors place at a big meeting in May (the week before I go to China). I'm nervous becuase I will be the only student and I have to present in front of the all of the US and Japanese delegates but it will be a great experience. Fortunatly my old advisor will also be in attendance. He is one of my favorite people and will be an excellent source of support.

More food...

I had parfait on Saturday. It was wonderfully delicious. I probably consumed a weeks worth of calories in one sitting. The picture to the right is of three desserts the three of us had (Tomo, Hazuki and me). I don't think the picture does the desserts justice - they were absolutely gorgeous. I had a mango trifle and every bite was amazing. The mango was so ripe and sweet.

I really ate a lot this weekend. The same day I had trifle, I had Mexican for lunch and later on I had a variety of Asian dishes (at Asian Kitchen) for dinner. I can't believe I ate so much.

Overall I had another great weekend. Unfortunately, today was a big reality check. My research is really at a stand still and I have reached the point (in time and otherwise) that it is really causing problems. I have to submit a paper for the conference in China and it's not looking good. At this point I need a miracle.

Campaign and Competition

The picture below is most of a board that is posted right out in front of the main entrance to campus. These are scattered all over the place. They represent all of the people running for the city council. I didn't understand why there are so many but it was explained to me that there are many seats to fill.

I really wish I could get a good picture of the campaigning vans I talked about last time. It's really crazy. Besides the megaphones and signage there are usually about 4 people hanging out of the windows in matching jackets (i've seen metallic pink among other colors) waving to the people they pass. I tried to get a picture last night but they were going to fast.

I have found it interesting to learn a little about Japanese politics - but far be it from me to try to discuss it here!

Speaking of things that are somewhat political....

The civil engineering department shares the same building as the architecture department and this poster, aimed at architecture students, is posted at the entrance of our building. At first I thought "wow, something like this would NEVER fly in Champaign County or many other places in the US." But I looked up the website and kind of pieced together the gist of the competition (it's in Japanese so I translated it with Google and got a pretty choppy translation). I think that the idea is to create a space where smokers and non-smokers can socialize together without the non-smokers inhaling any smoke (or limited smoke ?). It sounds strange and their pictures are really odd but I kind of like the idea (if it's possible). See, in the U.S. the local and state governmets take away the rights of private property owners by imposing smoking bans (the result of which I generally appreciate). But in Japan, they think "let's try to accomodate everyone!" What a great idea!

Updates

I also wanted to point out my countdown to the left. I've also added some links. I'll think of more or better links in the future. Things are going well still. Research is still slow but I'm enjoying myself a lot.

I really like this snack that is common here: onigiri. It is triangular in shape. The outer layer is nori that is kind of crispy and it is wrapped around a triangle of rice. The rice has the sticky consistency of sushi rice but not the vinegar. In the very center is something that depends on the kind you get. Salmon, tuna, chicken, etc. It’s really good. Let me find a picture….

I could eat one right after the other.

I also want to comment on the way that local politicians campaign. I think it's pretty funny how it's done. They drive around their precinct (that's not the right term - I just mean their prospective geographical domain) in these little vans equipped with megaphones. And they usually have some signage with the candidates name. Of course I don't know what they are saying (except I can understand good morning, hello, and thank you) but it's pretty intrusive. Especially right outside my apartment window. And they're everywhere. Yesterday there were two at an intersection representing different candidates and they were trying to speak over one another...it was funny. I haven't gotten a picture but I will post one when I do.

pa-ti o shimashita (we had a party!)

We had a welcome party for new graduate students in the Bridge and Structures Lab, the Concrete Lab, and the Wind Lab. There is a picture below of the whole group. It was pretty fun but my idea of fun is stronly influenced by the type and amount of food involved. We had sushi (mmmm) and pizza (mmmmm) and beer (mmmmm) and other snackfoods (mmmm). It was strange to have beer in one of the classrooms but it shouldn't seem strange considering you can get it out of vending machines.

Nothing to do with Tokyo...

I love this! I've never see anything more true.

Presentation

I got through my first presentation. It went fine - glad it's over.

Busy Saturday

What a day! This was the day we planned for Tomo to “take me around” Tokyo. He was serious about this! I don’t really know what size geographical area we covered or how many miles we spent walking but it was a long and wonderful day. We started at Kou… which is just south of campus. From there we took at least two different trains to Tsukiji where the famous Tokyo fish market is http://www.tsukiji-market.or.jp/tukiji_e.htm . You could smell the fish all the way down in the subway and we just followed in outside. It is where all of the fresh catch gets bid on and sold to commercial buyers and to those who sell in the nearby market area. It was amazing. We actually didn’t get there early enough to see the bidding but you could still get an idea of the chaos. I took lots of pictures of fish parts and large scallops. We walked around the main commercial area and then the market. I loved seeing all of the colors and smelling the smells. I wanted to eat everything in sight. I had a few samples and bought an eel skewer that was awesome. For lunch we wanted to eat at the market to sample the fresh fish. We chose a place with a long line (always a good sign) and had the freshest sashimi bowl ever! It was really good and included tuna, mackerel, salmon, uni (sea urchin), egg and the big orange fish eggs (don’t know what they’re called). I really hit the spot.

We then took a few trains to and walked to Hinode Pier, which is on the waterway. We took a boat up the river and passed under so many different types of bridges. They really like to paint the bridges different vivid colors and they are each a different type: cable stayed, suspension, draw bridges, etc. The boat ride ended at Asakusa. We walked around the stores that lead up to the main temple there. Tomo explained to me (and I had noticed in my travels thus far) that because temples and shrines are the biggest tourist attractions, there are always little stores and food places leading up to the temple, kind of official places.

After Asakusa we took two trains to Akhiabara. That is the main electronics district in Tokyo. You could get any type of cell phone, digital camera, computer part that you could ever want. It was interesting but by that time my feet were pretty tired. We wanted to go to one of the maid cafes but the few we tried were really busy. Tomo said that they are quite popular, especially in Akihabara and involve a girl in a special maid outfit serving you. I don’t really have a good mental picture since we didn’t end up doing it. Instead we went to one of the big electronics stores and found the most amazing massage chair ever! I will buy one as soon as I can possibly afford it. It was amazing. Really felt like a real massage – not some pansy cushion that kind of vibrates. I must have one.

Rejuvinated from my massage, we walked around a little more before taking the train to Segumo (kind of near where I live in Komagome). Tomo tried to explain to me that this is where grandmas go. I didn’t understand until we got there. Sure enoguth, there were little old ladies everywhere. And stores that sell stuff little old ladies like. It was leisurely to walk around. We found some Manuka honey in a honey store and had some honey ice cream (yum!).

The last stop on our whirlwind tour around Tokyo was Shinjuku. I will definitely be returning there when I have more time. Our first stop was an enormous (7 floors) book store that we knew had a English magazines and books. I was so excited to see all the magazines from home. I was about to start loading up on them until I realized that they were about $10 US a piece! I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much. Especially when I realized I could buy a paperback for the same price. So I bought a few books.

After the bookstore we walked to a highrise building that Tomo said had restaurants on the 30th floor. We were going to meet his “friend” there. She was running late so we sat down and got drinks and appetizers. The view of the city from that high was amazing. And the food was amazing as well. It was mostly Korean food and I loved it. A lot of sesame which I really like. And light salads and spring rolls and this pancake type thing with green onions and squid. We also had this rice dish that was really great and a Japanese kind of appetizer called nankotzu which is battered and fried soft chicken bones. I had a coenzyme-Q10 cocktail which was supposed to be good for me and tasted great. We finished it all off with desert. One more long walk back to the station and another train ride and I’m home. Whew!

Pictures from Saturday's excursion

I don't feel like organizing these...or describing them. Maybe I'll comeback later and do it.

Back at square one

Yesterday I started my Japanese Language class. The Civil Engineering department offers the class so I don’t even have to leave the building. They put me in the second class because I have had some Japanese. I was pretty bad. I can’t understand what they’re saying! I can read and write but I can never comprehend the spoken language. So, they’re putting me in the first class but, since the first month will be boring for me, they are going to give me as yet to be determined “special tasks”. I wish I didn’t have to go back a class because I have decent vocabulary and the writing is fine…I’m just not good under pressure and I have a pretty thick skull. My basic class starts tomorrow and meets everyday. It will be a nice diversion from research and might actually help me get better.

Research is still frustrating. I took two steps backwards and was so excited just to get back to my starting point today. It felt like an accomplishment but in the big picture it was nothing. I have to give a presentation on Monday to two labs combined. Rather than give an in depth talk about my research, I will just give an overview of the University of Illinois, and the research that our lab there is doing. I’ll give some background on what I do and what my goals are and I should be good! Lots of pictures usually helps. Once I get this out of the way I should only have to give another presentation closer to when I leave.

Getting more familiar....

Last night Tomo (he’s a guy that just got his PhD from the University of Illinois and we worked together on similar projects – now he’s an assistant professor here at he University of Tokyo) came to Komagome with me to help me scope out all of the restaurants and figure out how to order at the more intimidating (read: no English) places. I feel a lot more confident about it now. We ate at a place that is just up the hill from where I live. I was really good – kind of western as fall as the interior of the restaurant – more tables and more spacious than other places I had seen. It had a lot of variety, from salads to sushi to “bar” food. I think I’ll go there a lot in the future. It was reasonable and I can eat in a comfortable setting not far from home.

Tonight I had some success cooking at the apartment. It’s been hit and miss on the outcomes. I have to adjust my thinking on what I can cook. With only one burner, one pot, very limited space (i.e. no place to do a lot of chopping) and limited ingredients (mainly seasoning) I have to simplify what I try to make. I’m going to stick with pasta and rice dishes that I can just make all in one pot.

Research is frustrating. I’ve hit a road block. I won’t bore you with the details. I don’t see a solution that doesn’t involve a lot of help from others. That’s never an ideal situation. Especially when those with the needed expertise are in Illinois. And, as the saying goes, “out of sight, out of mind.” I’m just not their priority and I’m not there to meet with them face-to-face. I know it will get resolved but the main pressure is that I need to get some results prior to the conference I am going to in China, which is coming fast! I’m not in panic mode yet but that’s because I still have hope. On the flip side, I’m really looking forward to the trip to China. After that, Nathan comes to see me and then three weeks later I go home. Not that I’m counting the days yet but I am excited for Nathan to visit me.

Heart Saving Button

My electromagnetic cooker has a "heart saving button." That may come in handy!

I had another great weekend. Really relaxing. Friday night I took the train to Ueno and had dinner at the Hard Rock Café. Now, I realize that it is not Japanese at all, but I was craving grease, American style. And a margarita. It certainly delivered. I had a huge burger and fries and the margarita. It was really loud and crowded and even though I was by myself, it was fun to get out and be around people. After dinner I wanted to walk around the Ueno area a little. Unfortunately a young Japanese guy latched on to me and wouldn’t leave me alone. He followed me around for about 15 minutes before I had to just go back into the station. His English was pretty limited but I know he understood that I was saying I was married and I wanted him to leave me alone. He was really harmless but it was annoying.

Saturday I did my chores. First I went for coffee. I was excited because I had seen an ad for a smoked salmon and cream cheese bagel they were selling. When I asked for it he showed me that it was not yet available. I settled for a bagel with crab on it – it was gross. I don’t think they just sell bagels, just these weird bagel sandwiches. I’ll just have to ask next time. I need to figure out how to say “plain bagel”.

I did my laundry in a hole in the wall coin laundry. It went fine but kind of expensive. I also cleaned my apartment which took no time at all because there’s just not that much to clean! I headed back to Ueno in the afternoon. It was kind of overcast but it was still really pretty. I took lots of pictures of the cherry blossoms and people. Ueno Park is one of the most popular in Tokyo. I’m looking forward to going back again when the weather is nicer and there are fewer people. There are also some museums and a zoo there that I want to get to.

I wandered around the shops in Ueno station for a while and bought some postcards. An old lady started yelling at me when I passed her – for seemingly no reason. The only thing I can think is that my shopping bag containing a super soft and flimsy (but large) pillow hit her and I didn’t notice. I just kept walking because I couldn’t understand her and had no idea what I could have done to merit such a response.

Back in Komagome for dinner I mustered the courage to go into a noodle shop with absolutely no English on the menu. I just said tofu (which I know is also “tofu” in Japanese) and supu (which I think is how you say soup). They got the tofu part but not the soup part. Not that I really wanted soup, just tofu and noodles in a big bowl with broth. A nice lady at a table nearby bailed me out. She understood enough of what I was saying to point out a menu item. When it came to me, it was just what I had wanted. Unfortunately, it was realllly salty. I was kind of disappointed because I could not use my new found menu item as my order in the future to avoid the language issue. I’ll just have to tackle it all over again next time.

Sunday was Easter. I went to the church I had been told about and seen in Harajuku. It was really nice, all in English. It’s in a really new building on the main street in Harajuku but apparently the church has been around since late 1800’s. The service was similar in style to our church in Champaign. For a while I forgot I was in Tokyo.

I really enjoy Harajuku. I think I could go back every weekend and not get bored. I went to an awesome restaurant that was recommended in my Frommers book (awesome book!). It has a fusion menu and the staff speaks English. It seems like they have an amazing brunch menu but I was in the mood for lunch. I had a Thai Caesar salad that was really good. I can’t wait to take Nathan back. I spent the rest of the afternoon walking around – there’s so much to see and so many people from all over the world to watch.

Before I headed back to Komagome, I was lured into this little place by the most intoxicating aroma of baked goods mixed with chocolate. I HAD to have one. I saw the lady making them. She puts a huge chunk of chocolate (like bigger than my thumb) and wraps it in croissant dough. The result is a flaky croissant with gooey, slightly bitter chocolate in the middle. It was soooo good. My mouth is watering thinking about it! Another thing I can’t wait to take Nathan back to. I took a picture it was so good.

Great weekend! I am really enjoying it here. I’m also really happy to explore on my own. I don’t have to do anything that I don’t want to do! Tomo was helping his dad campaign this weekend (he’s a politician in Tomo’s home town and this weekend was some type of election) but he said that he’d “take me around” next weekend. I’m not sure what that will hold but I’m looking forward to it.

I can't put pictures in right now...I will as soon as it lets me.

Magazine Therapy

I got a package!!! From Nathan. It has some software I needed for my computer but it also had goodies. Magazines (I’m craving English reading material that is not about Japanese culture), a book, and chocolate. It was so sweet and made my day. This morning I took the People magazine to the coffee shop and just reveled in the mundane details of pop culture. It was strange how much it relaxed me and transported me to a different place. I know that sounds ridiculous but that’s how it was.

Last night Deal of No Deal was on TV. It was the Japanese version. For the first time, I knew exactly what was going on. They move a lot faster and the audience is not as vocal.

I bought slippers for my lab last night. We take off our shoes in the lab so slippers are necessary if you don’t want to go with sock feet (or worse, barefoot in summer). I love my slippers – I feel so assimilated!

To give you an idea of how my typical day is shaping up: I get up around 7am (Nathan calls around that time) and have a lot of time to get ready and eat breakfast – or lay in bed a little longer. Around 8:30 I go to a coffee shop just a minute from my apartment. I draw that out for a long time – read, watch people, write, etc. Around 9 or 9:15, I think about heading to the lab. For the past two days I have walked (40 minutes – good exercise) but when it gets too warm for that, I will take the subway exclusively. Nobody from the bridge group arrives much before 9:30 or 10am. Until today, I didn’t have a key so that was also my start time. At noon we eat lunch together – go buy lunch at the store and bring it back to the lab or bring from home. Everyone leaves around 7pm. By the time I get home it’s usually around 7:30 or 8pm unless I run errands before. I usually explore, get or make dinner. I go to sleep around 10:30pm. So that’s it. Pretty boring and a lot of alone time. But I don’t mind it at all.

I found food storage containers

They were here on campus the whole time - at the co-op store. Yay! If you comment anonymously, let me know who you are. Also, I'm also posting some pictures of campus....

Statue outside my building

Me outside main gate

Big tree in front of my building (starbucks is just out of shot to left)

My building

Main gate of campus - clock tower in the distance

Curry and an Iron

I’ve been here 6 days. I think I am adjusted as far as my sleep schedule but my appetite/digestion is still off a little. Tonight I did something I hadn’t actually done since being here – I went and had dinner in a little restaurant. All of my other dinners have been either non-existent or something I made in the apartment. I made an excellent choice!! It was an Indian place I had spotted on Sunday. There were a few distinct reasons I noted it and decided to go back: there was English on the menu and there were Indian people behind the counter. I wasn’t disappointed. I actually noticed a guy who looked like he would speak English as soon as I walked in so before I sat down, I asked him what was good. I sat at the bar and he was sitting at a table a foot away (everything is this close everywhere). He recommended a butter chicken curry and it was awesome. He was also really nice to talk to. He has been here for two years from Edmonton, Canada and he teaches English. We talked about the odd things I have noticed in the culture since I have been here. I shouldn’t call them odd because they are not odd to Japanese people. They’re just different for me.

After dinner I took the train to Ikebukuro – where I had been told I could buy an iron. I was told to go to BicCamera to get the iron. When I arrived to Ikebukuro I was really amazed how big the station itself was. I guess a lot of lines cross there. And there’s a department store whose basement is right off the station and there’s restaurants and other stores as well. I finally found the right exit and started looking for BicCamera – in English. I didn’t see it right away and then I saw a sign in Katakana that sounded like bikukamera – aha! Found it. But, as the name of the store might imply, there were only cameras – five floors or cameras. There must have been some mistake. I found a store clerk that spoke some English and explained to him that my friend must have been mistaken to send me to BicCamera for an iron. He said I had gone to the wrong BicCamera – apparently there are five of them within a half-mile radius. All huge stores with multiple floors –and that I could find and iron at the one three blocks away – of course! I still don’t know how one would know the difference between all of them or what the other three I didn’t go to sell. Very odd. I did find an iron and a little board. Success!

The side of a building in Ikebukuro

Television

I can’t understand the TV – at all. But I still find myself mesmerized by it. It’s so different, but it’s difficult to explain why. First, I am judging only by 10 channels. They all seem the same, except for two home shopping channels. It seems that most shows involve some type of panel of people whose job it is to discuss things. Usually they are watching clips of other things and then they talk about it. And while the clips are showing, and they’re not always short clips, there is usually an inset picture that shows the reactions of the panel. For example, last night I flipped to a channel where the panel was judging shows from other countries. Two members of the panel would act as presenters, each presenting a different show. In one instance they were pitting “So You Think You Can Dance (US)” against “Hell’s Kitchen (US)”. They showed clips of each, subtitled, and then they talked about them with a lot of animation until they voted. I’m not sure what the outcome meant (in the case above, Hell’s Kitchen won). And the incessant writing! It doesn’t seem possible to have a TV show without accompanying writing on the screen. It’s like they are subtitling every word. It’s always flashing across the screen in various fonts and sizes – but it’s always there. Maybe it’s like closed captioning for the whole country.

I made spaghetti tonight and it was glorious. I’m still after food containers. I’d like to go find some tonight but I don’t know where to go nearby that I haven’t already tried. I must be missing something.

An update on the food containers....went last night to a promising store but they were closed. Went again this morning but not open yet. Bought tape and taped the container shut that I have (doesn't seal on its own).

Another Day

It turns out that a research meeting is the same everywhere. Grad students scurrying around and the last minute to come up with something profound to report on. Arriving at the meeting room, scrambling to get the projector running, trying not to be the first to speak. It was all very familiar. And so was the subject matter. Nothing was over my head or out of my area – i.e. Noise propagation in system identification (sounds smart, huh?). After the meeting it was lunch – but not the lab lunch – I guess it was cancelled. The rest of the day was pretty unproductive for me – a lot of reading.

Found a real grocery store last night. Actually had fruit and vegetables and lots of strange fish. I’ll take a picture next time if it doesn’t seem too awkward. Got some pasta and spaghetti sauce and ground beef. It was all kind of expensive. Oh, and I found some real salt! And pepper. I’m still looking for food containers so I can bring my lunch. This has actually turned out to be a difficult thing. Not sure why.

Some observations/questions:

I don’t know how the women walk in heels everywhere – my feet were sore after the trek to the store and back last night in flats.
They seem to have a love of umbrellas – they’re everywhere.
Women stare at my wedding ring. Upon noticing this, I have tried to see the types of wedding/engagement rings women here have. I haven’t seen many diamonds and the ones I see are small. It’s strange in a place where every other lady has Louis Vuitton or Chanel bags and other expensive clothes – they seem to love luxury
There are not many garbage cans outside and along the streets. I had to give my McDonalds coffee cup to a clerk at a store I went into after about 30 minutes of walking around and not seeing a place to put it.
A lot of the elderly people are hunched over

Random Pictures

My bathroom (by request)

The rest of my apartment

Harajuku Street

A Wedding at the Meiji Shrine in Yoyogi Park

An outdoor thing with some music, food and cherry blossoms

The square near my apartment and the station - the pay phone in the bottom left is the one I have used a few times to call home.

Cherry Blossoms and Harajuku

The best day ever!! I don't even think I can write about all of it. Wandered around Komagome (my neighborhood). Had breakfast at McDonalds. Bought a memory card for my camera. Found some great stores around my apartment (groceries, etc.). Found some cherry blossoms (this is the famous cherry blossom season - they're everywhere and beautiful) then found some sort of outdoor festival gathering thingy. There were a bunch of little tents with different food, cotton candy, fair games. There was a little band/ensemble playing. It was really cool - had some noodles. Then took the train to Harajuku. (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3006.html) I LOVE Harajuku. It's so cool and there's so much to see and do. I saw the young people dressed in there crazy garb. Went to a Yoyogi park - found a temple and thought that's all there was to it. It was really pretty and saw a couple of wedding parties. Left the park and went down the main street. Lot's of highend stores. There were also a lot of foreigners. I took tons of pictures. I really enjoyed it and want to go back and eat when Nathan comes to town. So many cool stores. I found a huge interdenominational english speaking church that I can come back to on Easter. When I came back to the park to go back to the station I kind of followed the flow of the people to another entance to the park. As I walked along, I noticed that there were people here and there having picnics with beer and wine. There were also street performers (including some kind of 50's/Elvis dance off). Once I got further in the crowds got thicker and there wore more and more picnics. And then there were so many cherry blossoms. There were literally thousands of people - everywhere. It was like a huge outdoor festival. Alot of beer too. Kind of like a cherry blossom tailgate. I wished I could have gotten in on someones picnic blanket. But it was fun to walk around with the flow of people. There were all age groups including kids. And the weather was gorgeous. It was really awesome. I got pictures but I could have taken so many more had my batteries not run out. I may go back next Sunday to see if there's anything like this again. Either way, the park would be fun. That took me to about 5pm and I took the train back to Komagome (the station at Harajuku was packed - shoulder to shoulder).

I did so much shopping tonight. I tried to get all the basic stuff I would need. I got eggs, tuna, edamame and jam (and I splurged on some organic brown rice and some wheat bread in Harajuku earlier). I walked around some more to an area I hadn't been and I found the best store!!! They have all sorts of food from home. Natural peanut butter, granola, corn flakes, taco shells and seasoning, doritos, nature valley granola bars. I got some peanut butter and cereal but I will definitley be going back. They charge alot for things but some things are worth it.
I tried to cook tonight. Not easy in my room. I made egg and brown rice. It would be good except the "salt" I bought isn't normal salt. I'm not sure what it is but it tastes like crap. Oh well, not a bad first effort. Oh, I forgot to mention that last night, Laguna Beach was on TV. There isn't normally english stuff on. I couln't believe it. It was subtitled. (For my parents or anyone else who doesn't know, Laguna Beach is an MTV reality). I actually watched it even though I probably saw the episode over a year ago becuase it was in english.

Tomorrow is the first day of real work. Not sure what it will hold. I know there is a group meeting and a group lunch. It will be interesting to see what it all involves. I will get to see Fujino-sensei for the first time so that's cool.

Computer

This was the day devoted entirely to getting my computer working. After a leisurely stop at my neighborhood coffee shop, I called mom at the payphone (Dad had called my room the night before) and it was really nice to make contact with her. I then headed to Todai. Thankfully one of the guys planned to come in on a Saturday or I would have been out of luck - no key to the building. This isn't a very exciting report. After using up most of the rest of my calling card on hold with HP support I got a hold of someone who gave me some stuff to try and also told me I could do a live chat (i.e. free) next time I needed to get back in contact. Well, nothing he said to try worked. So I live chatted at least 4 times with HP and after a lot of things tried and reseating memory it seemed that the only solution would be to do a system recover - back to factory condition. I was really worried about losing software (not having any of my disks with me) but I took some measures and went for it. It worked!!!!! My computer is all better. And I didn't lose anything except for MS Office (which is kind of a big deal but a worthy sacrifice - and I can reinstall it with some CDs from the lab here). What a relief! It was weighing on me so much. But, as I told dad, it gave me a project to get my mind of off the other things. When I left at 7pm I had every intention of doing productive things - grocery shopping etc. but I just came home and slept again.

A Bad Day

Of course, I woke up super early the next morning. After trying to sleep a few times I got up and tried to take up a lot of time showering, etc. I then wandered out and found a convenience store that sells calling cards. (Oh, by the way it's raining cats and dogs at this point and I'm not aware that I can just take the umbrellas located near the front door). Once I find a public phone - of course I can't figure out how to get the calling card to work. A call to customer service clears it up and finally I get a hold of Nathan. That's when I lost it. I was so tired and so overwhelmed and stressed out. It had been over 24 hours since I had any contact with home. It helped a lot to talk to him. After a while, I wandered back to Weekly Mansion Komagome (WMK) where the front desk was finally open. The guy didn't speak any english but I managed to get him to show me things on a map (written in Japanese). I found the location of a coffee shop, 100 yen store, convenience store, coin laundry, etc. I headed to the coffee shop and took my time sipping the coffee. It's a Doutour coffee shop for anyone who might be familiar. It's not a Starbucks but it is a little western. It was funny becuase everyone was smoking inside. It was finally late enough to head to campus (Todai - short for Tokyo Daigaku which means University of Tokyo). I followed the directions I had gotten the night before and it was so quick. I went into the wrong gate on campus but I eventually found Engineering Building 1 (right next to a Starbucks - which I new was there from my last visit but still a super duper welcome sight). I found the lab on and met everyone who was there. Fujino-sensei wasn't there - out of town. My main contact, Tomo, is in China until April 5 which has made things a lot more difficult but also forced me to take care of things on my own.

I took the day to get my Vodafone application finished (thankfully my computer cooperated enought to let me get the files off). That took me most of the day. I went at got lunch with Evan at the co-op store on campus. They have these packaged meals - rice and other stuff - which you microwave. Not bad. And the store sells club soda!!!! Anyone who has been around me at all in the last year or so knows I'm addicted to the stuff. We took the food back to the lab and everyone there ate together. I went home around 6:30 and it was dark already. By the time I got back to WMK I crashed - still jetlagged.

Arrival

I arrived a few days ago. I don't know where to begin with how strange it has been. First of all, I was exhausted when I arrived. Both of my flights were severely delayed (I guess it's good they were both delayed) so I got in later than expected. While I was at O'hare my computer started acting up - really badly. It would freeze after only a few minutes of being turned on. I started to get that sick feeling in my stomach - like my last lifeline was slipping away. I just knew it would be difficult to deal with once I got to Japan. And there was the small issue of the looming deadline of a fellowship application I was going to finish on the plane. So that was a bad start to the trip. I wanted to cry.

I took a train from the airport to meet the person appointed to meet me. One interesting thing is that the "Tokyo" airport is acutally in Narita which is about an hour or more away from Tokyo (depeding on where you are going). Anyway, I guess I packed too much. Wrangling my bags was almost impossible. Up and down escalators and in and out of trains - not fun at all. I finally met Evan (who, thankfully, I had met at when I was here for a conference in December). We then got on another train to Komagome Station - my destination station for the next three months. After hauling the bags up another escalator and across a street and down a hill we finally arrived at Weekly Mansion Komagome - home! I'm so glad Evan was there becuase check in would have been impossible without him (Evan is acutally French but he speaks Japanese very well and is married to a Japanese girl). I was so glad to find out that my room (really can't be called an apartment) was on the ground floor! So after check in I opened the door and was truly shocked at the size of my living space. I mean, I expected it to be very small but this is crazy. I'll post pictures as soon as my camera situation is fixed (more about that in a bit). I actually have a full size bed - which may be a good thing but it cuts the floor space down by a half. It's a real bed but somehow it's not elevated at all. I have a tiny fridge, a tv, a electromagnetic hot plate which I have yet to use. There is one sink that's not in the bathroom. The bathroom itself it a whole different story. It's like a self-contained, molded plasic room. Picture will be the only way to convey what it's like.

After putting my bags in the room, Evan showed took me back to the station and showed me how to get a ticket for the train to campus. Actually, that's one of the best things about where I live - I am only a minute walk from the station and only two stops from campus. It's really easy. So after my lesson, I was on my own. I put some clothes away (with only 3 hangers here it wasn't the best unpacking job) and then tried my computer again to find out that it was still not working. Then I crashed.